1. Technical Field
Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to the field of secure authentication for private account service providers over a network. More particularly, embodiments disclosed herein relate to the field of password authentication for user login.
2. Description of Related Art
Private account service providers over a network have proliferated in the past few years. Typically, users and customers have multiple accounts relating to different service providers; each account associated to a user name or login ID, and a password. As internet access becomes more prevalent, so does the desire for users to access secure private accounts in multiple locations, at any time of day. Typically, users are required to remember long password strings to access a private account over a network. This has led to users choosing the same password for multiple accounts in different service providers, or choosing simple character strings easy to remember, with the consequent compromise in account security. In many instances, the multiplicity of complex passwords induces the user to decline or postpone a transaction involving a service provided through the network. Such loss of a transaction opportunity translates in revenue loss for the service provider and for vendors, in addition to user frustration.
Attempts to overcome these shortcomings include the use of additional pieces of hardware (“keys”) that the user carries around in order to store a password. Some examples include ID cards and memory sticks. While this approach removes the need for the user to memorize multiple passwords, it requires the user to carry around extra pieces of hardware that have a cost and may be easily lost, stolen, or mishandled by a third party.
What is needed is an alternative method of providing login authentication to users of a private account service provider that is simple to operate and is highly secure.
In the figures, elements having the same reference number have the same or similar functions.